The former town of Sitka sits at the intersection of Dickinson Road and W. 96th Street in Newaygo County's Sheridan Township. When the post office began operation on December 14, 1868, Halby Crawford was appointed the first postmaster.

As for the town's name, it was named after a village in Russia. In 1804, the last battle between the Russians and Alaskan Indians took place, the infamous “Battle of Sitka”. That's an entirely different story, which you can read about HERE.

In 1867, the United States purchased the Alaskan territory from Russia. It didn't take long for that news to influence the citizens of this new Michigan village, who therefore named their town in honor of the purchase, and in remembrance of the 1804 battle – and it was dubbed “Sitka”.

The post office closed down in February 1885 but it came back to life in December 1891. It lasted almost ten more years, shutting for good on Halloween day, October 31, 1901.

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From there, Sitka just didn't seem to grow. After the post office closed down permanently, the general store was seemingly destroyed in a storm. It was never rebuilt. Eventually, the post office was demolished, leaving just the old church and an old house on the southeast corner of the intersection.

Sitka is one of those Michigan places that doesn't seem to show up on maps anymore...not even Google Maps. In fact, it's very unassuming and you probably wouldn't think anything of it if you drove though. But take a look at the photo gallery below and maybe – just maybe – that will encourage you to add this little Michigan curiosity to your next roadtrip.

The Ghost Town of Sitka

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